Chefs in the making

For these NJ teens, after school is the time to shake, rattle and roll those pans

By ROBIN FRIEDMAN | The STAR-LEDGER | March 1, 2000

In an age when few adults prepare meals from scratch, some kids are
turning to the culinary arts for a creative outlet — and saying no to
Burger King.

“Kids are getting tired of fast food and want to know how to make good
meals for themselves,” says Pat Jacobs, a home economics teacher in
her 27th year at Parsippany High School.

While it may seem as though take-out and pizza are the law of the
land, some kids are expressing themselves in the kitchen — and then
devouring the results.

“Cooking is an art form, like drawing, painting or designing,” says
Linda Wien Murray, coordinator of Brookdale Community College’s
Creative Cooking School in Freehold, which holds classes for children
and teens. “It’s all about colors, designs and flavors. Kids love it.”

Thirteen-year-old Sherin Brown certainly regards cooking as an
appealing endeavor. Her favorite dish is coeur à la crème, “heart of
cream,” a rich French dessert that is as pretty as it is delectable.
The South Orange resident eagerly tackles this sweet delicacy, even
though it involves complicated hand movements and delicate maneuvers
with ethereal folds of cheesecloth.

“It doesn’t bother me that it’s hard,” she says. “I see cooking as an
art.”

Wien Murray, a pastry chef by training, says it’s no surprise young
chefs are drawn creatively to cooking and baking. Her 7-year-old twins
have spent many delightful hours painstakingly crafting decorated
cupcakes.

“My students beam from ear to ear. They love it. They absolutely love
it,” agrees Gail Blazure, who has taught home economics at South
Orange Middle School for 25 years. “They get to sit down at the end
and enjoy a meal of their own creation.”

Aspiring teen chef Philip Rosende, 15, recently created a delicious
menu featuring filet mignon, potato croquettes and julienned
vegetables, with strawberries flambé for dessert — an exquisite meal
that looked and tasted like it was prepared in a fine restaurant.

“I feel good cooking for people,” says the Sparta resident. “It’s not
too hard, and it makes people feel so good.”

In addition to his regular studies, Philip is learning commercial
foods and commercial baking at Sussex County Vocational-Technical
School. He toys with the idea of becoming a professional chef, but
isn’t sure if the long hours and high stress are for him.

Still, with youthful enthusiasm, he says, “I’d love to open my own
restaurant.”

In addition to providing an outlet for their creative energies, kid
chefs say they like cooking because they get to eat what they create.

“Most parents aren’t around much, so there is a tremendous need for
kids to know how to cook,” says Jacobs. “I think kids are happy they
can go home and make something for themselves.”

Some kids take this notion even further by preparing meals for their
parents.

Eleven-year-old Alex Bortnichak makes dinner for the family almost
every night.

“It’s a fun thing to do,” the Sparta resident says. “Why not do it for
my parents? They have a hard day at work. It’s nice for them to come
home to a good meal.”

Some of Alex’s favorite dishes are vegetable soup, lemon cake with
coffee icing and a chicken dish of his own creation — marinated in
orange soda and Worcestershire sauce. He loves to experiment and never
uses a cookbook. Everything he knows about cooking he says he learned
from the Food Network, which he watches religiously.

Lots of young chefs, however, learn cooking at the feet of parents who
love to cook.

Philip’s father, Louis, a former chef, worked at the Rhiga Royal Hotel
in New York City, though he is now in the midst of opening a business
unrelated to food.

“Cooking is a nice thing to pass on to children,” says Wien
Murray. “My excitement about the kitchen came from my mother and
grandmother.”

Twelve-year-old Ben Stone of Bernardsville has been chopping
vegetables since he was 5.

“I like cooking a lot,” he says. “It’s fun to do. When I taste it, I
think to myself, ‘Wow, I cooked that.’”

Ben’s father, Edward Stone, is executive chef and part owner of the
Bernards Inn in Bernardsville. Edward trained at the Culinary
Institute of America and spent many years working in New York City.

Ben’s siblings — brothers Charlie, 15, William, 9, and Peter, 4 — all
like to cook, too. “We’re always cooking,” his mother, Ann,
explains. “So we might as well put them to work.”

The four sons can prepare complete chicken fajita dinners and are
especially adept at cooking breakfasts of omelets and French toast.
Charlie makes chocolate chip cookies from scratch and grilled cheese
sandwiches for a crowd.

“It’s important that kids be able to fend for themselves and feed
themselves,” says Edward. As for following in his footsteps, he
says, “I don’t strongly encourage it. I find it rewarding and I enjoy
what I do, but it’s not for everybody. It’s a lot of time away from
the family. If they want to, I’ll help them. But if they want to go in
their own direction, that’s fine with me.”

Cooking, which by its very nature exposes kids to various foods, often
has the effect of preventing picky eater syndrome. Ben, for instance,
has cheerfully eaten figs, pheasant and goat cheese.

“I’ll try anything once,” he says. “But I draw the line at liver.”

These junior league chefs say they started out with easy fare such as
toast, and gradually ascended to higher levels of culinary expertise.

Do boys ever feel that the kitchen is a woman’s place?

“No, no, no,” says Alex. “It’s not just a girl thing.”

“In this day and age, it’s not just for girls at all,” agrees Philip.

Their cooking is so popular, in fact, that friends from school gladly
play the role of chow hounds.

“We call our house ‘the hotel,’” says Ben. “Our friends are here all
the time. They think it’s so cool.”